


He Knows

by jaeminspuzzle



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Arguing, But mostly fluff, Communication, Everybody is soft, Everyone Loves Na Jaemin, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, How Do I Tag, Na Jaemin is a Good Friend, Na Jaemin-centric, Not Beta Read, Other, Present Tense, Short, Sickfic, Soft Huang Ren Jun, Soft Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Soft Lee Jeno, Soft Mark Lee (NCT), Soft Na Jaemin, Soft Park Jisung (NCT), Soft Zhong Chen Le, additional tags could be added, basically jaemin takes care of dream but forgets to take care of himself, brief mention of vomiting but nothing graphic, each ship can be read platonically or romantically i guess, except its six plus one, i forgot what tense was while writing this., idk what tags are, kind of, lapslock, mostly - Freeform, no capital letters is intentional, over use of the phrase 'he knows', thought led
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 10:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24847972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaeminspuzzle/pseuds/jaeminspuzzle
Summary: "it's funny, donghyuck thinks, how jaemin always seems to know exactly what the group needs. knows when to come closer, when to back off. knows what to say.it's funny, donghyuck thinks, because jaemin just knows these things, but donghyuck isnt sure that they would know what to do for jaemin if the roles were reversed."OR6 times Jaemin looked after the dreamies + 1 time the dreamies looked after Jaemin
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Mark Lee/Na Jaemin, Na Jaemin/Everyone, Na Jaemin/Park Jisung, Na Jaemin/Zhong Chen Le, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 55
Kudos: 537





	1. Jisung

**Author's Note:**

> hey i've sort of had half of this written out for ages so i thought id finish it and get it posted. i was gonna post it as one long oneshot but decided to split it instead, so you can read it all separately if you wanted.
> 
> this is not beta read and honestly probably has a lost of grammar mistakes but a lot of it is intentional. 
> 
> please leave a comment for what you think of this style because i'm not sure if i like it to be honest haha
> 
> I have most of it written already so the next part will be up in a couple of days just need to do a bit of editing. 
> 
> Thank you for reading <3

it was four in the morning when jaemin was awakened by a soft shake to his shoulder. he frowned, eyes still closed, confused as to where the shaking was coming from. subconsciously he tucked himself further into his blankets. 

"hyung." 

a whisper. jaemin must have misheard, because it was the middle of the night and no way was anyone waking him up when he had just barely managed to finally fall asleep less than an hour ago.

"hyung, please move over." 

it was louder this time and, jaemin realised, distinctly sounded like jisung. it sounded like distress and tears too, enough so that it shook jaemin out of his sleepy stupor and he shot up, eyes now wide open.

jisung was hesitantly perched on the edge of his bed, eyes swimming with unshed tears and looking rather sheepish that he had woken up the older boy.  
jaemin pouted at the younger boy, "jisungie? what's wrong?" 

"i…" jisung looked hesitant, as though he were debating just going back to his top bunk and crying there, but jaemin wouldn't let that happen. jisung hated sometimes that he got this vulnerable and jaemin knew he was the only person jisung would go to about this.

so, putting the fact that he had barely slept the past 3 nights out of his head, jaemin tugged jisung's sleeve, silently inviting the younger to cuddle with him.   
jisung melted into the embrace, something he definitely wouldn't do in front of the other members, let alone admit to. but this was jaemin. jaemin wouldn't tell anybody, and jaemin gave great, comforting hugs. nobody needed to know that he was being such a baby.

jaemin adjusted their position slightly so that they were laying down, jisung now curled into his chest. (if jaemin mentioned it later, jisung would most certainly deny how tightly he was holding on to the older boy's shirt.) "baby, if you don't tell me what’s wrong i can't help you." 

and jisung knew. jaemin knew that he knew. he knew that jaemin already knew what was wrong. this was something jisung had struggled with for years. but with the use of that one word, jisung told him anyway, because damn it he is jaemin's baby. (again, not that he would admit it outside this room, okay?)

"the nightmare. i had it again, hyung. they were right there and i couldn’t run and i-" jisung cut himself off as he felt jaemin slowly begin to rub circles in his back. the way he knew would bring him the most comfort. "i couldn’t-" 

jaemin could feel him cry more than hear it. jisung was a quiet crier. no sobs, no soft whines or any noise really except the occasional sniffle. but his whole body shook and racked and gave away how hysterical the boy actually felt.

"i know, baby, but you're awake now and hyung's here. nobody's gonna get you while i'm here, yeah?" 

and it’s silly, jisung knows, how much that sentence affects him. soothes him. because he knows jaemin means it. knows his hyung would do anything to keep him safe. "it was so weird hyung."

weird, he says. scary, he means. jaemin knows that, and offers him a small smile. "i'm sure it was, want to talk about it?"

jisung hates being a baby. yes. but he revels in the soft touch of jaemin's hand moving to softly play with his hair, the older boy holding him closer as he does so. he shakes his head softly. "it was the same as always." 

jaemin nods, doesn't press. jisung's told him about the strange scary dreams of being chased, loud bangs like gunshots following after him, men shouting obscenities all the while. so, jaemin nods, doesn't press. he pulls jisung closer still, the younger's head securely nestled in his neck.

jisung gets embarrassed. knows that dreams are just dreams, that what he saw wasn't real. he gets embarrassed because it affects him anyway. because every nightmare gets realer as time goes on. more vivid. the colours blending together until they feel like a blur of distant memories rather than obvious dreams.

jaemin knows this. knows jisung wishes he could be brave. but jisung is not brave. never has been. his hyungs have always teased him for it, being scared of loud noises. jaemin hummed softly to himself then begins to talk, shaking off any last remnants of sleep. jisung needed him more than jaemin needed sleep. 

he talks about anything, knows jisung needs a distraction. he complains about how annoying haechan has been in dance practice (jokingly of course), about losing ANOTHER 50 times to jeno in that stupid new video game he likes. he talks and talks. he talks until long after jisung's breathing evens out. talks until the sun is peeking through the curtains of their shared room in soft golden splatters. he talks. jisung's been asleep for a long while but jaemin still talks. he's given up on sleep, will just add an extra espresso shot to his already killer coffee order. that will do. 

at 6am jaemin starts to hum again, this time a small tune, hands stroking jisung's back, playing with his hair. 

jisung smiles softly in his sleep, and it makes jaemin grin too as he continues the tune. because even if the younger would never publicly admit it. jisung will always be his baby. and he will always protect his baby.


	2. Renjun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to be honest i'm not sure about his one, i found renjun's personality the hardest to write and i'm really not sure i did him justice.
> 
> but still, i hope you like it :)

dance practice that week was a disaster. jisung was having trouble sleeping, seeing his dreams when he closed his eyes, so in turn jaemin wasn't sleeping well either. but it wasn't just them that were… off. 

donghyuck, bless his soul, was exhausted from having just finished a 127 schedule, and was struggling to keep up. the choreographer didn't mind that too much, though, he could see donghyuck knew the steps, knew the placement, he just needed to rest.

chenle, jaemin could tell, was getting bored. it wasn't often the second youngest was the first to get something. but he had the choreo down days ago and was trying hard not to get frustrated that the others weren't getting it. 

jaemin could honestly say he just wanted to go home and sleep but he knew that probably wouldn't happen anytime soon. not when renjun looked like he was about to cry over one particular move in the dance. 

the choreographer called the dance practice for the dance and everyone, jaemin included, let out a pleased exhale. they began to gather their things. all except renjun.

renjun was staring at himself in the mirror, still trying to figure out that one move. 

jaemin smiles. his nap would have to wait. silently he gestured to renjun, signalling that he would stay behind with the eldest. jeno and donghyuck nod, leading the two youngest out of the door.

jaemin approaches him carefully. a frustrated renjun is not someone you want to piss off. jaemin knows that. so he comes forward slowly, waits for renjun to slow in his movements, places a hand on his shoulder. "let's rest for a minute, yeah?" he suggested, and renjun's shoulders tense in his hold. 

"i need to get this."

jaemin sighs, coming closer so hes stood directly behind renjun and wraps his arms around the older's middle. and it's obvious, then, that renjun isn't okay because he doesn't protest even the slightest bit. instead he lets out a content hum that tells jaemin that hes doing the right thing. 

"i know." he says after a few moments, and he does know. hes usually the slowest to pick up choreo, his time away with his back injury making him fall behind the others in terms of ability to pick up moves. "but you're not gonna get it like this. you need to slow yourself down, you're too in your head." 

renjun leans his head back slightly so its resting on jaemin's shoulder and sighs again. "you're right."

jaemin grins. "i'm always right." it gets a small chuckle out of renjun and jaemin knows hes calmer now. he twists renjun around so they're facing each other and smiles. "we could do some extra practices together." hes careful not to explicitly offer help. renjun doesn't like that, he knows.

renjun smiles softly and shakes his head, "ill be fine." that's what he says, but much like with jisung the night before, jaemin is well versed in knowing what he means.

he prods softly at renjun's side, making the other wince away slightly with a guarded smile. "please? i haven't been very up to scratch recently, i could do with more practice myself." and just because he knows renjun is more likely to accept, he adds in a cuter voice, "will you please practice more with me?"

renjun pretends to consider it, but jaemin knows he made his mind up when jaemin approached him 5 minutes ago. "okay, if you want." renjun says, and jaemin smiles, squeezes renjun's body tighter for a moment. just to let renjun know that he gets it. that he knows what he needs. he lets the older pretend he's helping him, even if they both know it's the other way around. 

he lets go of the older, and moves into position, "so can we go over that second chorus first?" he purposefully picks a part he can see renjun knows well. he knows it'll build up his confidence. knows it will get him out of his slump. knows renjun needs to feel like he knows what hes doing to get himself back on track.

and just like he thought, renjun returns his smile as he gets into his own position. "okay sure, ready?"

jaemin nods, "ready."

that night, jaemin and renjun didn't get home until long after midnight, separating at jaemin's door with a soft kiss pressed to renjun's cheek and playful slap to jaemin's chest. 

and maybe jaemin walks into his room to find jisung still sitting up on his bed smiling sheepishly at him. but it's okay, jaemin smiles. he pulls back the covers, beginning to chatter about his extra practice as he slides in beside jisung. the younger wastes no time, curls into jaemin's side. jaemin tries not to think about how much his body is aching from the extra practice, and how much he wants to sleep. instead, he presses a kiss onto jisung's forehead and starts complaining playfully that renjun will be dancing better than him in no time. yes, he thinks as the younger's eyes begin to droop, renjun is going to be just fine.


	3. Chenle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently im posting this everyday? hope you like it! :) 
> 
> don't forget to leave kudos and a comment!! your comments have been making my day!

when jaemin wakes to an empty bed a few days later, hes more surprised that he actually slept a little bit longer than that jisung had disappeared before he could wake up. he smiles to himself as he stretches out his back. 

its their first free day in a long while and jaemin absolutely cannot wait to spend it doing nothing. except. except he'd promised renjun he would do some practice with him in… he checks the time… twenty minutes. he sighs as he gets himself ready to meet renjun out in the hall. 

they practice for hours, jaemin making sure to keep that soft, comforting smile on his face, encouraging renjun through the move that he seems to have a mental block on, preventing him from getting it right.

jaemin puts on his best 'parent' voice, coaxing renjun through the routine with a soft smile. it's a routine they've found themselves in everyday for the past 4 days in their private practices. 

they work for 5 hours before jaemin convinces renjun to call it a day. it was their day off, after all. the older retires to his room as soon as they reach the dorms and jaemin is completely ready to do the same but stops in his tracks when he hears it.

a sniffle.

he looks around in surprise, not thinking anyone else was outside of their rooms. he is about to shake it off as him hearing things when he hears another. its coming from the kitchen area, he realises, and as he moves around the counter he sees chenle sitting on the floor staring at his phone. 

jaemin smiles sympathetically. he doesn't say anything as he moves towards the younger boy. he knows the younger knows hes there anyway, and he knows the younger will talk when hes ready.

he sits next to the boy. he doesn't touch him or say anything, just sits there. he waits until chenle looks up. waits til he moves himself closer and curls into jaemin's side. 

"jaemin hyung?"

the older smiles, "whats wrong, lele?"

chenle pouts, "me and jisung had a fight." he says quietly. "i came over so we could watch a movie, like we said we were going to do last week, but he forgot!" 

jaemin sighs softly, pulls chenle into his side carefully. chenle lets his head rest on jaemin's shoulder but he doesn't say anything else. 

jaemin doesn't say anything either, because he knows chenle isn't finished yet. the younger let a few more tears fall and wraps his arms around jaemin's middle. they sat in silence for a few minutes only the sound of chenle's soft sobbing filling the room.

"i wouldn't mind," chenle says in a soft whine, "but hes been hanging out with jeno and you a lot more recently. you know? and i feel like i'm being forgotten."

jaemin rubbed chenle's back softly, "oh, le, i didn't realise."

"its fine." chenle insisted, "it really is. i decided to go and live with my mum… i know you guys… spend more time together. but. i got here and jisung was mad that i was here!" 

jaemin frowns, that didn't sound right. "what do you mean?" he presses, he knew chenle could sometimes exaggerate or misinterpret others reactions. 

"he told me i ruined his game with jeno because he got his character killed while he was going to pause it to answer the door. then asked me why i was even here!" chenle let out a stuttered breath, "like he didn't even want me here."

jaemin sighed and pulled chenle into his lap. "lele, its okay, please try to calm down okay?" he pressed a soft kiss to chenle's forehead, the way he knows the younger likes to be kissed when he's upset. the younger hummed, heavy breaths slowing as jaemin slowly began to rub his back. jaemin knows chenle gets like this during comeback periods, he stresses himself out and overthinks, and that was definitely what chenle was doing at this very moment.

lucky, jaemin thinks, that he hadn't just gone straight to bed because chenle was stubborn at the best of times and would probably avoid jisung for days if nobody intervenes. it would cause more rehearsal problems than they already have, with jisung and jaemin sleep deprived, renjun barely remembering the steps, and mark not even having learned the choreo with them yet because he was away doing super m promotions. 

"why doesn't he care hyung?" 

jaemin tried to keep a smile from his face, knowing the younger wouldn't appreciate his upset being considered over dramatic. "of course he cares, lele, you know jisung adores you."

chenle huffs, pulling himself further into jaemin's chest. "well he doesn't act like it! not recently, anyway!" he pouts, looking up at jaemin who gives him a reassuring smile. 

"have you spoken to him about it?" 

chenle pouts harder. "well… no but…" he's cut off by jaemin letting out a soft chuckle, leaning back further against the kitchen cupboards and pressing another kiss to chenle's forehead and then his cheek softly. 

"chenle, i love you but you've gotta think this through."

the boy in question let out a whine, shoving at jaemin in protest. the older simply chuckles, holding chenle tighter in his arms to keep him still.

"let me finish!" jaemin giggles, "i understand why you're feeling that way but you're forgetting one detail!"

chenle frowns, "what's that?" 

"jisung's an idiot." jaemin squeezes chenle's sides teasingly.

chenle let out a surprised giggle at the touch, squirming in jaemin's arms as the older laughed. "seriously," the older continued, "that boy probably doesn't even realise hes done something wrong! hes hopelessly clueless." chenle chuckled, "he definitely shouldn't be treating you the way he is, i'm not denying that, but he probably doesn't realise it, okay bub?"

chenle sighs, letting his head fall onto jaemin's shoulder. he revelled in the comfort of the older boys arms around him, and took in a deep breath to take in the alluring vanilla scent that always seemed to follow jaemin around. chenle smiles, jaemin always knew when to tell him he was being silly. the others would, for the most part, get a little angry with his stubborn thinking, or leave him to sulk, but jaemin would always be there with a cuddle and a smile and a "you're being silly" type of phrase exactly when chenle needs it. 

"come on," jaemin pats the side of chenle's leg, silently asking him to get up. "you go ask to speak with jisung, okay? tell him how you feel, he'll understand. i'll make you both some food, its almost dinnertime. you can stay over tonight, yeah?" he says it like he's asking but he knows chenle isn't going anywhere tonight. 

chenle smiles, presses a peck to jaemin's cheek before he stands, helping the older up. "thank you hyung, you always know what to say to make me feel better."

jaemin just offers a soft smile and a shrug, watches a still teary eyed chenle scurry off to jeno's room to find jisung as he begins to gather some ingredients for an easy dinner.  
yes, he thinks, it might have been easier to have gone to have a nap after practice. wrapped himself up in blankets and catch up on the hours of sleep he'd been missing for weeks. he could still go now, he realises, but what if chenle and jisung still need him? what if something goes wrong? 

he brushes off the thought and spends the rest of the day with the two youngest. eats dinner with them. watches movies with them.   
and when he winds up in his bed with not just jisung breathing softly in his ear, but also chenle's arms wrapped around his torso, too hot to sleep. he thinks, at least they're happy, as he mindlessly scrolls through his twitter feed. 

he only gets an hours sleep, but its a safe sleep, comfortable between the two maknaes.


	4. Jeno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favourite chapter so far! hope you like it :)

the next day, supposedly refreshed from their one day off (jaemin tries not to scoff at the thought), their schedules are busy. in the morning, they have recording of some of their new songs, the early afternoon a small interview with a magazine, and finally, its their last dance practice without mark.

they try harder than ever, and its starting to look good. chenle and jeno are doing as well as always, donghyuck hasn't had many 127 schedules and has finally been able to catch himself up to the others' speed. jisung, now getting enough sleep has also started to do well, and thanks to their late practices, renjun is finally confident in his steps. jaemin is more than aware that he is now the dead weight of the group. knowing the steps, but too tired to keep up well.

practice ends, and once again jaemin and renjun stay behind. "one last time," renjun says, but jaemin knows they'll probably do it again tomorrow too. renjun leaves after an hour but jaemin stays behind longer, decides he wants a moment of quiet that he wouldn't find in the dorms at the moment, just for a moment. "don't work too hard," renjun warns, "our comebacks not for another month, we cant over do it." its a bit hypocritical, but jaemin knows renjun is just worried and doesn't really mean anything by it.

it's nearing midnight when jaemin finally reaches the dorm. he finds jeno in the kitchen, tiredly rifling through the cupboards. and somehow, just by looking at him, jaemin knows that the boy needs a distraction.

"you okay there, jen?" jaemin asks, opting to make his way over to his best friend rather than climb into his bed beside jisung like he wants. he wraps his arms around jeno's middle, rests his chin on his right shoulder. its nice. he closes his eyes as he waits for jeno's response.

the boy in question barely reacts to jaemin suddenly appearing behind him, just brings a hand up to ruffle the younger's hair. "'m just trying to find food." he yawns out, "i fell asleep earlier 'n forgot to eat." 

jaemin pouts, "lets eat together then. i was going to go straight to sleep, but seeing you cooking makes me hungry." 

jeno smiles, he had wanted the company, he wonders if jaemin knew. "okay nana, ramen okay?" jaemin nods into jeno's neck and pulls away to take out a pan and fill it with water.   
the two boys huddle together in front of the pan, waiting for it to heat up. they wrap up in each others arms, jeno smiling when jaemin tucks his head into the older's neck. "spent the day with the kids yesterday, then?"

jaemin chuckled, "which ones? renjun? or jisung and chenle?"

"you were with renjun?" jeno asks, "that's where you were in the morning?"

jaemin blinks, pulls away from the hold slightly, "yeah? didnt you know? we've been doing some extra practice the past couple days." 

jeno sighs softly, playing with jaemin's hair, "you are resting between those extra rehearsals, right?" 

jaemin smiles, doesn't want jeno to know hes been struggling to sleep, so he nods, "of course, jen. i'm perfectly fine, see! i just need to eat and go to sleep." god, jaemin thinks, he really needs to go to sleep

jeno lets out another sigh, "okay, i'll pretend to believe you. put the ramen in."

jaemin chuckles, pecks jeno's cheek before he pulls away to start to actually cook the food. "but yes. chenle was upset with jisung, i just stayed with them to make sure it was all okay now."

jeno lets out a loud laugh, "i know what you did, chenle blurted it all out to jisung in front of me and then they cried and hugged each other for 20 minutes." 

jaemin rolls his eyes with a fond smile, "over dramatic fools. they would've been stubborn if i hadn't intervened, though."

"you always have to intervene, they may never learn to just talk." 

jaemin lets out a happy sigh, "it's nice, makes me feel needed." 

jeno frowns slightly, "you're always needed nana. we wouldn't be what we are without you."

jaemin shakes his head fondly as he reached to stir the ramen. "don't get all sentimental now, jen, i'm supposed to be the one telling you how amazing you are." he's grinning, though, knowing jeno wants to give jaemin some praise. (and maybe the compliments were making the pit of his stomach feel warm and gooey).

"but you're the amazing one," to make a point jeno stepped back, "exhibit a, you've noticed how tired i am and have immediately taken over cooking this food so i don't have to. you always know, its a little unnerving." 

the younger simply stirs the ramen a little more, "just call it my superpower," he teases, "looking after six brats." 

"six? are you including yourself." 

jaemin rolls his eyes, "no i'm including mark hyung! now go and sit down, ill bring this to you when its ready." 

jeno scoffs, but moves to sit at the table as jaemin continues to cook his food for him. he rests his head on the cool surface and lets his eyes slip closed for a moment. in all honesty he needed this. the banter with jaemin. with the younger's extra practices, they hadn't spent much time together recently and jeno had missed his best friend.

jaemin smiles softly when he walks to the table, two bowls in hand, and sees jeno practically falling asleep. "come on now, jen," jaemin complains lightly, placing one bowl in front of the older. "don't leave me to eat alone now. we can sleep later." 

jeno makes a noncommittal hum escapes his throat that prompts jaemin to play with the loose hair at the nape of his neck. he knows jeno likes that.

"if you don't eat now, it'll get cold" he scolds softly, but he knows jeno will eat the ramen in a moment, for now he was just revelling in the peace of the moment. 

that's all jeno needed, some peace, and jaemin wasn't sure why but the older always seemed to find it in his company. jaemin runs a hand directly through his hair, chuckling slightly at the pleased hum jeno lets out. 

a few minutes later. a few minutes of jeno humming softly and jaemin eating one handed, his other hand buried in jeno's hair. a few minutes later, jeno sits up. slowly of course, and jaemin lets his hand linger in the soft strands even when the older turns to give him one of his signature eye smiles. 

"eat," jaemin instructs softly, letting the hand run through the hair and round softly to cup jeno's cheek. "or it really will get cold." he patted he cheek lightly and carried on 

jeno presses his cheek into the hand for a moment before nodding, and turning to the food. "thanks nana." he says it sincerely, full of gratitude.

jaemin shrugs, moving his hand away and turning to focus on his food, "it's just ramen." he knows what jeno means though.

"its not just ramen. and that's not the only thing i'm talking about."

jaemin simply shrugs again. and if he clambers into bed beside jisung thirty minutes later with a huge grin on his suddenly red face, chatting away to a barely conscious jisung about how nice jeno is, well, that's jaemin's business.


	5. Mark

they have a free morning before practice the day that mark comes back from his schedule. with him back, he and donghyuck would finally be moving into the dream dorms in preparation for the upcoming schedules in relation to their newest comeback.

jaemin would be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit nervous about the older’s return to dream. the unofficial leader of the group had left a hole when he graduated and, yes, jaemin was so happy he would finally refill it, but he also knew it came with just that. an unofficial leader. 

mark always looked out for his younger team mates, and jaemin was slightly nervous that mark would notice jaemin was struggling to keep up with the comeback while he was still helping renjun, skipping sleep to watch over jisung, and had been having later and later dinners with jeno just to give jeno a distraction from his nerves. 

it was fine. everything was fine. if he convinced himself he was juggling everything well, mark wouldn't even know. 

as it turns out, jaemin need not have worried. because, as he would soon find out, the older was distracted by his own nerves. 

jaemin, as usual, bounded to help donghyuck move his stuff into the dorm. playing around with the smaller boy and teasing him as he carried in his stuff for him and helped him settle. but when he left donghyuck’s room, (the boy letting him go with a soft smile, an over dramatic kiss on the cheek and a loud "thank you nana!"), he realised mark was nowhere to be found.

he finds him on the roof, bags still in hand and crouched on the floor, weirdly balanced between sitting on the floor and crouching. his body shook slightly and jaemin only had to walk a couple of steps closer to realise the older was crying. he stops. doesn’t approach the older but stands and surveys the situation instead.

mark is never one to cry, not really in front of the dream members anyway. he’s always trying to make sure everyone else is okay, it’s why the dreamies have missed him so much, jaemin knows. so, why is he crying? for a second jaemin shocks himself with the realisation that he doesn’t know. 

they, mark included, have been waiting for mark to come back for so long, jaemin doesn’t understand what could be upsetting him. he wonders if it’s a 127 thing, but the thought leaves his brain as soon as it comes, because jaemin knows this is different. 

driven by an intense desire to put a smile on the older's face, jaemin steps forward. is sure to make a subtle noise so mark would realise his presence. smiles when he sees the older boy tense. “it’s just me, hyung.” 

“jaemin.” mark greets quietly, “i didn’t realise anyone followed me up here.” 

jaemin smiles guiltily but doesn’t comment as he moves to sit in front of mark, makes sure they’re close enough that he can reach out and take both of mark’s hands. “what’s wrong, hyung?” 

mark shrugs, playing with jaemin’s fingers softly. “i don't know, really.”

jaemin knows that's a lie, but he shrugs, “okay, if you say so.” 

“i say so.” mark replies, but it comes out tilted, unsure. he eyes jaemin sceptically, as though he’s trying to figure out exactly what jaemin is doing. 

jaemin simply smiles, “okay. do you want to watch a movie tonight? or maybe tomorrow, jisung and chenle aren’t here tonight.”

“what?”

jaemin repeats himself, slower this time. 

“yes, i heard you but why are you asking?” mark stops playing with jaemin's fingers and leans back, looking at jaemin as though he were some kind of villain mastermind. 

jaemin laughs, “i’m just asking! don’t you think it would be nice? all seven of us together again.” mark tenses, looks away and jaemin sighs, “is that it, hyung?” he stretches his arm forward, using his hand to tilt mark’s chin so he looks at him. “is that what’s upsetting you?” 

mark takes one look at jaemin’s sincerely concerned face and he breaks. he starts to cry again. just a few tears streaming down his cheeks. “it’s been so long. what if i don't fit anymore?” 

and suddenly jaemin knows. his mind wandering back to a year spending his days watching nct dream grow without him. having limited contact. watching them perform without even a hint of them missing him too. the anxiety of coming back. of playing catch up. 

its a little different, mark's been regularly performing with 127 and super m. he hasn't just stopped like jaemin had. but he did have to watch them grow into a new concept without him, new formations, new everything. without mark. 

"oh." jaemin says, because for a moment that's all he can say. he pulls mark into a hug because he knows how he's feeling right now and it sucks. he knows that. "hyung..." 

mark is crying again, jaemin can feel the tears seeping into his shirt. "what if you guys decide you really don't need me anymore."

jaemin smiles, "of course we need you! you're the best leader we could have ever asked for."

"i'm not your leader," mark chokes on a laugh as he pulls away from jaemin slightly to give him a teary smile.

jaemin simply smiles back, looking mark right in the eyes as he states, "maybe not officially. but we've always looked up to you. and it's never felt the same without you." he rubs marks arm softly, "you will always fit with us. always." 

and mark gasps softly, because that's exactly what he said to jaemin when he first came back from his hiatus. "jaem…" 

"you've always been the best hyung to me." jaemin says with teary eyes, knowing they're both thinking of a night tucked in jaemin's bed, the younger worried about his back injury, the choreography he keeps missing and keeping up with his team. back then, mark had wrapped his arms around the younger pressing soft kisses all over his face in reassurance, "i'm just trying to return the favour."

and jaemin knows mark is grateful, can feel it in the way the older locks hands with him again, shaking slightly as he holds back the tears. 

"i know, hyung, i really do." jaemin smiles softly, "it sucks, but honestly you've never been gone, not really. its just felt like we were waiting for you to come home. you really have nothing to worry about." 

mark smiles softly, wipes away jaemin's tears, "its good to be home." 

"its good to have you home…" jaemin returns the favour, wiping his hyung's tears away too, before pulling him into a hug. 

and because he knows he needs one more small bit of reassurance, jaemin whispers in his ear, "love you, hyung."

he hears a soft whisper back, "love you too, jaem."


	6. Donghyuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last one before nana finally gets the treatment he deserves after looking after everyone so well!! i think this one might be my favourite, im always so soft for nahyuck.
> 
> don't forget to leave a comment or kudos if you like it <3

its not until late that night that jaemin thinks he might actually catch up on some sleep. jisung's at chenle's so he's pretty much guaranteed to have a good nights sleep. 

until he hears a knock on his door just as hes about to fall asleep. 

"nana?" 

jaemin sits up, slightly disoriented and squints towards the soft light coming through the now open doorway, "jisung?" he could barely see who was in the doorway.

there's a chuckle and then, "jisung is at chenle's dumbass." 

"...donghyuck?" it seems as soon as jaemin says the name, the boy's face appears right in front of him. his round eyes blink back at jaemin and he has a small pout on his face. 

"need cuddles." is the only thing donghyuck says before hes practically leaping on top of the younger boy to curl himself into his chest. 

jaemin huffs playfully, "you're too heavy," he complains but makes no move to get the older off of him. instead he wraps his arms securely around the boy, dropping a fond kiss to his forehead as donghyuck buries his face into his neck

"missed you." the other whispers, breath fanning across the exposed skin of jaemin's neck. 

"you've seen me everyday this week hyuck," jaemin teases, brushing a hand down donghyuck's spine. donghyuck shivers a little a the touch, but jaemin knows it's what he wanted from him.

donghyuck huffs, "not the same." 

"oh yeah?" 

"yeah." 

and they collapse into silence. it wasn't often that the two of them were quiet when they were together, usually their personalities would be bouncing off of each other and they'd joke around and play with each other. so, with that in mind, jaemin knew that something had to be wrong.

he was proved right when little sniffles began to flow out of donghyuck, a slight shake to his body indicating that the boy was crying. 

jaemin briefly notes to himself that this made donghyuck the fourth member of dream to cry on him in the past two weeks but he shook it off. 

"hyuckie?" 

donghyuck buries his head further into jaemin's neck and sighs, "i just really missed this."

"this?" jaemin asks softly, letting his fingers drum a soft beat into donghyuck's side. it usually makes donghyuck smile. 

donghyuck lets out of breeze of laughter, "this." he confirms, leaning back slightly so he can poke jaemin's cheek playfully. "you." he smiles weakly, the gesture not quite reaching his eyes. "you get me. always have. we're so similar."

jaemin smiles. "i suppose… what am i getting about you at the moment?" he asks, genuinely curious, since he didn't think he was doing anything particularly special. 

"we both love affection." is the reply, "no matter what you're always ready to hug me and kiss me, because you love to get it just as much as i do." donghyuck looks a littl embarrassed to admit what hes saying, red cheeks clear to jaemin even in the dark of the room. "you understand that sometimes it's nice not to get your affection rejected."

and jaemin nods because, yeah, he knows that. he and donghyuck have always been the more affectionate ones, not even just in dream but in the whole of nct too, along with one or two of the others. and jaemin could admit, it was always nice when he and hyuck were alone and could indulge in giving each other long hugs and soft kisses that are usually playfully dodged, especially in front of cameras.

"so you miss my cuddles, not me?" jaemin says, and hes clearly joking, making donghyuck giggle softly as he tries to pull himself impossibly closer to jaemin's torso. jaemin simply wraps his arms tighter around him continuing to rub lightly down his back where he can. 

"both." donghyuck insists pressing a kiss to jaemin's cheek, "cuddles are better when they're from the right person." he smiles wider, clearly already feeling better, "and are especially good when you haven't got any in a while." 

it clicks in jaemin's brain that donghyuck is probably not being hypothetical, that hes been doing a lot of separate schedules recently and his 127 hyungs may not have had time for him. and donghyuck is someone that thrives on stuff like this. it's obvious to jaemin now that the reason donghyuck is here is that he's probably feeling a bit neglected. probably through no fault of the elder nct members, but more just because there simply isn't much time.

he doesn't bring it up. donghyuck's usually straightforward so he probably just doesn't want to talk about it. instead he smirks, pulling away from hyuck and watching the pout form on his face at the loss of comfort. "oh hyuckie," jaemin says cutely, definitely trying to annoy (read: distract) the older. "look how cute you are!" he pinches his cheek, "pretty haechannie!"

and it works. donghyuck is laughing as jaemin squeals out more praises in aegyo, presses kisses all over his face, neck, or basically anywhere he can reach. "nana!" donghyuck wheezes between barely concealed giggles, "nana stop!" 

jaemin eventually does stop, deciding his little distraction from however donghyuck was feeling about the lack of affection from his hyungs had worked. he pinches donghyuck's cheeks one last time and pulls him close, simply asking, "so how is rooming with johnny?" 

and donghyuck immediately goes into a fantastically drawn out and hilarious story of he and johnny sneaking into taeyong's room every night to slowly hide all of the leader's underwear. 

jaemin simply listens, answering whenever he needs to or to ask a question that will launch the excited boy in his arms launch into a whole new tangent. all the while he continues to hold him close, play with his hair, stroke his back, playfully tap his sides and press kisses to wherever he can reach. 

because he knows the other just wants some positive attention. 

its nearing four in the morning, the two of them have to be up at six, when donghyuck realises the soft kisses have stopped coming and the arms around him have relaxed around him. he looks up to see jaemin fast asleep, mouth slightly open and breathing heavily. 

donghyuck smiles, feels a little bad when he notices the time and cant believe he kept jaemin up that long. now the boy poor boy would barely get any sleep, just because he wanted to help donghyuck.

it's funny, donghyuck thinks, how jaemin always seems to know exactly what the group needs. knows when to come closer, when to back off. knows what to say.

it's funny, donghyuck thinks, because jaemin just knows these things, but donghyuck isn't sure that they would know what to do for jaemin if the roles were reversed.

but for now he just curls back into jaemin's torso, hoping the other boy at least had had enough sleep the previous nights to make up for this one. 

he worries about it a little more when he wakes up at 5:30 to jaemin already wide awake, shaking his shoulder and telling him renjun is making breakfast.


	7. + Jaemin

it’s not long before donghyuck’s worry for jaemin begins to grow. it’s clear, to donghyuck at least, that he’s not telling them something, and donghyuck begins to feel bad that he’s started to spend every other evening getting cuddles before jisung comes into the room to start getting ready for bed.

he always makes sure to place a grateful kiss on jaemin’s cheek before he leaves to sleep in his own bed.

firstly, jaemin’s old habit of seeming to run purely on caffeine and sugar comes back tenfold. donghyuck begins to make note of how many time jaemin gets a refill, whether by making it himself or getting his awful usual starbucks order. 

he loses count after 9 cups. 

donghyuck also watches jaemin dance, sees how exhausted and loose the movements are. it gets the slightest bit worse everyday but donghyuck doesn't know how to bring it up without outright accusing the other of neglecting his health.

its the little things. little sighs escaping jaemin’s mouth every time he has to move. his tired smile that doesn’t seem to be as bright as usual as he talks to their managers. staying up to make dinner for them all but taking the small amount left over (sometimes donghyuck was sure there was just nothing left over) for himself. 

and donghyuck really doesn’t want to accuse jaemin of self neglect. but that's definitely what it is. donghyuck thinks. he doesn’t know really. maybe the younger was just tired, after all. 

the others have noticed too, donghyuck is sure of it, but none of them say anything, because nobody is really sure of why jaemin is so tired, or why he’s suddenly eating less. so, none of them say anything, and donghyuck regrets to admit that that may be their first mistake.

what’s happening to jaemin becomes clear to mark when he notices how everyone, especially the four members that live with jaemin, seem to naturally gravitate towards him when they need something. 

he watches as chenle comes to the dorm clearly upset, and heads straight for jaemin’s room, where mark was sure the boy was about to have a nap before dinner. twenty minutes later they both walk out hand in hand, jaemin leading the other to the sofa to cuddle and watch a movie.

he watches as jaemin comes back from more extra practice with renjun, looking slightly ill, his hair dishevelled from one too many times running a hand through it and body tucked inwards as if he were embarrassed. he smiles though, brightly this time, when renjun pinches his cheek and thanks him for his help. 

and mark realises what jaemin’s doing and isn’t sure the best way to tell jaemin to stop helping others. it’s one of the things that makes jaemin, well, jaemin. how can mark expect him to understand? 

he talks about it with the other boys instead, and they all try to stop going to jaemin for help. but it’s harder than they think. 

jisung still has trouble sleeping and when he tries to leave the room to go to another hyung for help, jaemin always wakes up and pulls him into his arms, as if he hadn’t actually been asleep anyway. and jisung doesn’t want to upset jaemin, so he lets him look after him. 

renjun tries to stop dance practices but jaemin, who actually is behind in the choreo now, starts practising without him. insisting he’ll only be an hour when the others leave practice for the day, then coming home 4 hours later. renjun ends up going back to practices to make sure he comes home at a reasonable time. 

so despite their best efforts, the members don’t actually seem to help jaemin at all. especially because every time they all try to go to someone else for something jaemin usually helps them with, jaemin looks so unbearably sad when he notices that they end up asking him for help anyway. 

it all comes to a head a week before their comeback. 

they’re at another dance rehearsal and six dreamies keep risking worried glances at the seventh. jaemin’s breathing sounds heavy and irregular and his dance moves are so sloppy it’s like he can’t control his body. even the choreographer notices and asks jaemin if e wants to sit out of practice for a bit. 

jaemin refuses, says he’s fine, just a little tired. 

mark tries to argue but for some reason he can’t bring himself to say no. 

it’s when jaemin tries to stay behind again after practice that donghyuck snaps. “no.” he says sternly, wrapping his fingers tightly around jaemin’s wrist. jaemin open’s his mouth to protest, but he’s so socked at how serious donghyuck looks that the words die on his lips. “you’re coming back to the dorm, getting into bed and sleeping jaemin! you look like you haven’t slept in twenty years.” 

jaemin pouts, “well that’s just mean.” he’s only making a joke but donghyuck lets out a small growl and begins to pull him to the door. 

“it’s true.” jeno says, placing his own hand on the small of jaemin’s back and lightly pressing jaemin forward to encourage him to follow donghyuck. “you looked ready to collapse when we did that last dance break.”

“but i didn’t-” 

“we shouldn’t have to wait for you to collapse before you start looking after yourself jaemin.” renjun adds quietly.

jaemin stays quiet this time, letting them take him from the room. they don’t get very far though because the sudden movement makes his stomach, that was already aching throughout dance practice, cramps and squeezes uncomfortably and he jolts himself out of donghyuck’s hold just in time to run to a waste bin and empty what little food he had in his stomach into it.

he feels the soft touch of delicate hands running down his back as he tries to get back his breath. he looks up, tries to smile reassuringly when he sees renjun’s concerned eyes staring back at him. “jaem…”

“i’m fine,” jaemin says weakly, body feeling heavy as he forced himself to stand on shaky legs. he looks at the rest of his team, all looking at him in varying states of worry and concern. "really, lets go…"

jisung was the first to move, letting out little sniffles and tears in his eyes as he grabbed jaemin's hand. "you're not fine, hyung, please let us look after you…"

and jaemin sighs because he knows that this will make the others happy.

he sighs because he knows he really hasn't been looking after himself. and maybe its time to let the others to give him what he needs.

jisung smiles, tugs on jaemins arm as renjun takes the other and together the two boys start to support jaemin as he walks to the car. 

mark and jeno follow behind with care, watching intently in case jaemin falls backwards. the boy looks like bambi learning to walk, and mark guesses its just the exhaustion finally catching up on him.

behind them, chenle has his arms wrapped around a guilty, crying donghyuck. "its not your fault hyung."

"i tried to drag him out of the room and he threw up, chenle, how is it not my fault?" donghyuck says it in a whisper with a pout on his lips, so jaemin doesn't hear. 

chenle pats donghyuck's back, "its not. you saw how jaemin hyung has been looking all day, he was probably going to be sick whether you pulled him or not." 

donghyuck sighs as they reached the car, unfortunately it catches jaemin's attention and the sick boy insists the donghyuck sits next to him, holding his hand the whole way home. 

yeah, donghyuck thinks as jaemin's thumb strokes his hand comfortingly, he really isn't good at looking after jaemin.

they get home and jaemin looks like he's going to be sick again so jeno insists on carrying him up the stairs despite jaemin trying hard (though that wasn't much use considering how weak he was feeling) to wriggle out of his grasp. 

he's not sick again. in fact, he feels better once hes wrapped up in blankets on the couch with jisung and chenle on either side of him. 

chenle had his arms wrapped around him and was chattering about something that had happened with his mum the other day softly in his ear. he’d fed the older some medicine earlier to help with the fever and headache he’d started to complain about in the car ride home. jisung, on the other side, was carefully feeding him bits of fruit that renjun had cut up as soon as they got home. 

honestly, jaemin didnt need to be babied this much, but it makes jisung smile so he simply opens his mouth every time jisung presses a fruit to it.

in the corner, the other four members chatter amongst themselves about what to do. 

mark clicks his teeth as he stares down at his phone, “taeyong says to just let him rest. he’ll talk to our schedule manager and get jaemin to have a few days off to rest up.”

“he’s not going to like that without company there with him.” jeno notes with a soft tone, as if fond of this quality in his friend.

mark shrugs, “we can sort out a rota or something, you know, so one of us stays with him at all times." 

“is that going to be enough?” renjun asks with a thoughtful frown, “no offence to him, but he literally looks just about dead on his feet.”

the four of them glance over to jaemin, taking in his pale complexion and forehead sticky with sweat. his tired eyes flicker to meet them and he offers a tired almost-smile as he chews a piece of watermelon jisung had shoved into his mouth. 

“it'll have to be,” donghyuck mutters, “we’re just going to have to put him on a strict bed rest or something.” 

jeno lets out a nervous laugh, “ah what happened to our haechan? you’re never usually this serious.” 

“we should’ve tried harder.” donghyuck sighs, “we all knew something was wrong with him.”

“we can’t let hindsight get the better of us,” renjun says softly, “maybe we could’ve done something sooner, but we can’t dwell on it, we just have to focus on making sure he’s okay now.” 

mark nods, “right, and we all know what he needs the most is sleep.” they look at jaemin again. the boy seems to be falling asleep as he chews his fruit, head ducking down every now and then before popping back up. like his head’s too heavy suddenly, but he’s trying desperately hard to keep it up. seemingly noticing this, jisung had abandoned feeding the boy in favour of wrapping his arms around jaemin and chenle both and resting his head on the eldest’s shoulder as he listened to his best friend speak.

“definitely sleep.” donghyuck agrees, and once again he’s the first to take initiative. he stands, approaches jaemin, and crouches in front of him. jaemin tilts his head in question, the slight movement making chenle stop talking too . “nana, are you ready to sleep?” he asks quietly, mindful of the headache jaemin probably still has. 

he poses it as a question but they both know it means ‘go to bed nana, now.’ still though, jaemin pouts and reaches out to donghyuck with both arms. “only if you cuddle with me. i promise i’ll sleep. i just need you” 

donghyuck laughs, expecting the answer, jaemin always hated being alone when he was sick. “of course, you big baby.” he stands. takes jaemin's outstretched hands and hoists him up. together they walk to jaemin and jisung’s shared room and donghyuck happily makes a mental note to himself that jaemin’s steps look and feel less laboured. he’s getting better. 

donghyuck gets under the covers first letting jaemin all but collapse on top of him as he wraps the blankets around them both. “goodnight hyuckie.” jaemin whispers into his neck, a striking parallel from the night donghyuck came to him for cuddles.

“goodnight jaemin.” donghyuck says, even though he knows it’s still going to be a struggle for jaemin to fall asleep. (if it were easy he would’ve fallen asleep ages ago, he figures). 

after five minutes of jaemin still struggling to sleep donghyuck tries to sing a song for him. the first that comes to mind. he sings out the lyrics to puzzle piece softly into jaemin’s ear. he smiles when he feels jaemin relax. 

and when jeno comes in to quickly make jaemin drink some water before he falls asleep completely, donghyuck still sings. jeno slips into bed beside the both of them, hand finding its way into jaemin’s hair as he begins to sing along with donghyuck. 

next to come into the room are jisung and chenle. hands joined, they go up to their sick hyung and each press a kiss and a “goodnight” into his forward, making the elder smile softly, though his eyes remained closed as he tried to sleep. there’s no room in the bed for them, they know, so the two of them go up to jisung’s bunk and lay there, cuddling each other for comfort. 

donghyuck and jeno’s singing stops as jaemin’s breath evens out. they look at each other with a victorious grin. he's almost asleep

lastly, comes renjun and mark. the two oldest appear holding loads of soft blankets and renjun holds a stuffed animal he had been meaning to give to jaemin for his birthday. he places it in the other's arms as mark softly murmurs in jaemin’s ear. “goodnight, jaem, i told you we fit didn’t i? you were right. we both do. please get a good night’s sleep okay?” 

jaemin simply hums in response. 

“we’ll all be right here if you need us,” renjun says softly, as he and mark make themselves a small nest of a bed out of the blankets they brought in so they could sleep on the floor. “it’s our turn to look after you now, yeah?” 

donghyuck looks down at the soft smile jaemin has on his face as he finally drifts into a good nights sleep and smiles.

hey, he thinks, maybe it is easy to look after jaemin. because the thing that jaemin loves most is having his friends be happy. (and maybe a good cuddle or two too).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's it! 
> 
> i'm honestly overwhelmed that this even got responses, i'm not that familiar with NCT Dream yet, so i really wasn't sure if i'd done this well enough but you've all been so lovely in the comments and it got more tan like 2 kudos, which i really appreciate :)
> 
> thank you so much to those that stuck with me while i wrote this. I updated everyday because this fic was my baby and i was so excited to get it out! so it really encouraged me that yall seemed to like it too! 
> 
> thank you again for all the lovely comments and kudos and i really hope you enjoyed the fic <3


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